Families looking to participate in the Belgian tradition of watching Sinterklaas dock his steamer in Antwerp will need to present a Covid Safe Ticket (CST) for anyone over the age of 12.
Sinterklaas’ helper Zwarte Piet will be wearing a mask, but Sinterklaas himself will keep his distance and just wave to the crowd, without shaking any hands, according to Nieuwsblad.
Covid Safe Tickets will be checked on Steenplein and at the town hall on Grote Markt ahead of the event, but event organisers wanted to emphasise that this wasn’t a measure only for the adults.
“What many people do not know is that we will also check the CST of children from 12 years and two months,” VRT spokesperson Hans van Goethem told Nieuwsblad. “Not everyone is as clear about that.”
Last year’s event was cancelled due to Covid-19, but this weekend it’s expected that at least 5,000 people will come out to attend and see Sinterklaas make port.
In Belgian culture, Sinterklaas arrives in the country from Spain (or Turkey) via a steamboat and docks at Antwerp before preparing to distribute gifts to children.
